Shop Online? Have You Heard Of One Time Credit Cards
Are you buying stuff online? If you are, hopefully you are doing everything you can to prevent your credit card details and your identity from getting stolen. Many people consider online shopping to be very risky and they are right. The probability that your identity and your credit card details getting stolen are much higher when you are shopping online.
Of course, identity and credit information thieves are not the only things that you have to worry about. Many online merchants are less than honorable when it comes to purchases. Some include hidden fees which you only find out about after the purchase has been charged on your credit card, others make you opt in to a continuing service which is very difficult to get out of as long as you have enough credit in your card.
Because of these online risks, credit companies saw fit to create a virtual, one time credit card for their customers. A one time credit card is basically a virtual credit card which you can use for online purchases as if you were actually using your actual credit card. The great thing about one time credit cards is that you can easily generate a new one whenever you have to make a purchase.
Actually, it is not the credit card which is generated but the credit card number. This credit card number can be used for one time purchases. Other than that, the number can also be used to control your spending limits or to block retailers from putting additional charges on your credit. One time credit cards are accepted by most online retailers. They are, for all intents and purposes, virtually the same as a traditional credit card. Some of the credit companies offering one time credit cards are Bank of America, Citi and Discover. PayPal, the popular online payment system also offers one time credit cards.
Don’t be surprised if you have not heard of one time credit cards before. One time credit cards are not very widely marketed by credit companies. Consumers have also become used to using their credit cards for online purchases, even though it is quite risky. Using one time credit cards also requires being online and manipulating some details to set up purchase restrictions and generate a new one time credit card number.
With a one time credit card, you don’t have to worry about exposing your credit card details online. You can also put limits on the charges that an online retailer will place on you. Needless to say, if you are a constant online shopper, you should definitely check out what one time credit cards can do for you.
